Popgun with extended barrel for projecting puff of air



Sept. 9, 1969 R. DANIEL ETAL 3,465,741

POPGUN WITH EXTENDED BARREL FOR PROJECTING PL IFF OF AIR Filed June 15, 1965 w H M Mu United States Patent 3,465,741 POPGUN WITH EXTENDED BARREL FOR PROJECTING PUFF OF AIR Richard 1. Daniel and Robert 0. Wesley, Rogers, Ark., assignors to Daisy Manufacturing Company, Rogers,

Ark., a corporation of Nevada Filed June 15, 1965, Ser. No. 464,061 Int. Cl. F41b 11/00, 7/08 US. Cl. 1241 6 Claims This invention relates generally to toy guns, and particularly to an improved toy popgun.

Toy popguns which produce a bang simulating the discharge of a real firearm have for many years been a source of great amusement for small children. Parents have frequently provided their children with these noisemaking popguns, especially when the parents felt the children were too young to handle the propellant firing guns.

As is the case with most toys, the attractiveness and saleability of a particular popgun depends largely upon its realism and its ability to retain the interest of the child. In one commercially successful toy popgun, a plunger is cocked against a spring and upon being released, compresses air within a chamber, located at the muzzle end of the gun, which is instantaneously opened by a projection on the end of the plunger to produce the noise or bang. This construction is illustrated and described in detail in the United States Patent No. 2,729,208, granted Jan. 3, 1956, to Lee B. Gaeke, and owned by the assignee of the present application.

The popgun of the aforementioned patent was specially constructed to produce an exceptionally loud bang or noise and, in addition, functioned to expell a small amount of smoke from the muzzle when fired. While this popgun has achieved substantial commercial success, its

effectiveness in providing an impact or other effect on a target or other object at which the gun is pointed when fired was limited. Thus, the compressed air expelled past the valve in the popgun described in the aforementioned patent disperses into the surrounding air after it leaves the muzzle end of the gun and produces only limited visible effects on the object or target at which the gun is pointed. When the gun is fired outdoors, or indoors where there is any substantial cross ventilation, there is generally a more rapid dispersion and an additional loss of accuracy in the effect of the compressed air on the target. Because of this, there is a tendency for the child to lose interest in the gun after a time. Therefore, a noise-making toy popgun of the aforementioned type capable of producing a highly accurate and effective visible impact on a target or other object without firing a projectile would be highly desirable and it is this type of gun to which the present invention is directed.

Accordingly, main objects of the present invention are a toy popgun capable of producing a loud noise or bang simulating the discharge of an actual firearm and of producing a controlled visible and highly accurate impact on a target or other object without using any projectiles.

Further objects of the present invention are a toy popgun of the above character which simulates .an actual firearm in appearance, and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, sturdy in construction, safe and reliable in use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of a popgun shown in the cocked, ready-to-fire position and embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is .an enlarged view of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 1, taken within the circle 2;

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FIGURE 3 is a section view of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 2 taken along the line 3-3 thereof; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the Valve mechanism of the gun.

Broadly described, the present invention includes a popgun provided with a chamber and having a releasable valve assembly at the end nearest the muzzle which is accurately positioned spaced from the muzzle. A spring loaded plunger, located at the other end of the chamber, when released, rapidly compresses air within the chamber and releases the valve assembly producing a bang to propel a blast of air out the muzzle end capable of cansing an accurate and controlled visible impact on a target or other object spaced therefrom.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the gun of the present invention is seen to include an integral barrel 11 and frame 12 with a stock 13 removably secured thereto by a screw 15 and by a bolt and nut 17. A plunger assembly generally indicated at 19 is disposed within the barrel 11 and is normally urged toward the left, as viewed in FIG. 1, by a compression spring 21. The plunger assembly 19 includes a rigid washer 23 suitably fixed to a resilient elastomeric head or piston 25 and to the forward end of an elongated plunger tube 27 movable longitudinally within the barrel 11. The compression spring 21 has its rearward end engaging an abutment 29 extending through the top of the barrel 11 forming a sight 30 and anchored at its bottom end by a rivet 31. The forward end of the spring 21 engages .a pin 33 received in aligned openings 35 in each side of the plunger 27. A rod 36 is secured within the plunger 27 by the pin 33 which ex-- tends through an opening in the rod and the rod extends forwardly of the piston 25 for a purpose to be described. A washer 37 is sleeved over the forward end of the plunger 27 and is conveniently positioned between the pin 33 and the washer 23 and is movable with the plunger assembly 19. As shown, the washer 37 is constructed of felt or other suitable absorbent material and is normally saturated with oil to keep the barrel 11 and plunger assembly 19 thoroughly lubricated. The rearward end of the plunger 27 is split and the opposed walls thereof interconnected by a rigid clip 39. i

A cocking lever 41 having a handle portion 43 and an integral forward portion 45 is pivotally carried intermediate its ends on the frame 12 by a pin 47. The forward end 45 of the cocking lever 41 is positioned so that when the handle portion 43 is swung downwardly, the forward end 45 engages the clip 39 and together, they and the plunger 27 move rearwardly and compress the spring 21. The clip 39 rides up over a cam surface 49 formed on a sear 51 pivotally mounted within the frame 12 by a pin 53. A compression spring 55 engages a rearward projection 57 on the sear and an abutment 59 in the stock 13 to normally bias the sear 51 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1. However, clockwise pivotal movement of the sear 51 is limited by engagement between a forward sear projection 61 and the front wall of a trigger 63 which encases the sear 51 and also is pivoted on the pin 53. Thus, as the plunger 27 moves rearwardly or to the right as viewed in FIG. 1, the clip 39 engages and rides over the sear cam surface 49 with the sear pivoting counterclockwise until the clip is positioned in a scar notch 64. The parts are shown in this position in FIG. 1 with the sear 51 holding the plunger 27 in its rearward or cocked position. To fire the gun, the trigger 63 is pulled rearwardly against the force of a light compression spring 65 positioned between a trigger projection 67 and an abutment 69 in the stock 13. The front wall of the trigger 63 engages the front sear projection 61 thereby pivoting the sear 51 in a counterclockwise direction to release the clip 39 from the sear notch 64 and the plunger assembly 19 for forward movement under the force of the spring 21.

As the piston 25 moves forwardly in the barrel 11, it compresses air within a chamber 70 defined by the barrel, the piston 25 and a valve assembly 71. As seen best in FIGS. 2-4, this valve assembly 71 includes a valve cup 73 having an end wall 75 and a cylindrical confining wall 77. The valve cup 73 is disposed in the barrel 11 and is secured thereto as by spot welding. The end wall 75 is centrally apertured at 79 and a valve disc 81 is positioned within the cup 73 and is resiliently held against the front face of the end wall 75 to overlie the aperture 79 by one end of a compression spring 83. As shown, the spring 83 is smaller in diameter than the barrel 11, forming a space through which air can flow, and has its other end abutting a pin or rivet 85 which spans the barrel.

The valve disc 81 has a rearwardly facing annular surface 87 positioned to engage the cup end wall 75 around the aperture 79 to prevent the passage of air therethrough. The disc 81 also has a central, generally dome-like recess 89 around which the annular surface 87 extends and which is aligned with the valve cup central aperture 79. Further the disc 81 has three arcuately spaced projections 91 extending radially outwardly of the annular surface 87 to laterally position the disc 81 within the valve cup 73. The rear surface of these projections 91 angles away from the plane of the annular surface 87 so as to be spaced from the surface of the end wall 75 when the annular surface 87 seals thereagainst and provides a space between the disc 81 and cup 73 through which air can flow when the disc 81 is moved away from the end wall 75.

An elastomeric seal or packing 93 is positioned within the barrel 11 and engages the rear face of the valve cup end wall 75. The packing 93 prevents the leakage of air past the outer periphery of the valve' cup 73 and is centrally apertured at 95 in alignment with the aperture 79. The packing 93 has an annular groove 97 for flexibility to provide better sealing around the barrel. A rearwardly extending annular projection 99 is formed on the packing 93 and is positioned to engage the piston 25 in its forwardmost position to prevent air from becoming trapped in the groove 97 which might cause a suctionlike interlock between the piston 25 and packing 93 so that when the plunger assembly 19 is withdrawn during cocking, the packing 93 will not move or be pulled rearwardly relative to the barrel 11.

When the plunger assembly 19 has been cocked by the lever 41 and released by the trigger 63 so that it is propelled forwardly in the barrel 11 by the spring 21, air is compressed in the chamber 70 between the piston 25 and the valve assembly 71. The spring 83 is of sufficient strength to retain the valve disc 81 against the cup end wall 75 until the plunger rod 36 which moves with the plunger 27 and the piston 25 strikes the valve disc 81 and instantaneously moves it away from the end wall 75. The rod 36 has a projected length so as to move the disc only a small amount, e.g., about sixty-thousandths of an inch. This sudden and instantaneous valve opening permits the compressed air within the chamber 70 to expand rapidly causing a loud bang simulating the discharge of a firearm. Also, as a result of this increase in pressure interiorly of the chamber 70 and the attendant raise in temperature therewithin, the oil which is disposed within the chamber 70 as a result of the saturated washer 37 will be at least partially combusted, thereby generating or producing smoke which is emitted from the muzzle of the barrel 11 to enhance the realistic effect of the gun.

The relationship between the stiffness of the spring 21 and the spring 83 is of some importance in producing the desired gun discharge noise or hang. For example, in one particular gun, a ratio of about four and one-half to one between the stiffness ratio K of the spring 83 to that of the spring 21 has been found to yield optimum results. However, it is to be understood that this ratio can vary considerably from one particular gun to the next according to such factors as barrel size, etc. What is important is that the valve disc 81 remain seated against the end wall until struck by the plunger rod 36. Since the stiffness of the spring 83 is considerably greater than that of the spring 21, the valve disc 81 reseats almost immediately after opening.

It is noteworthy that the plunger rod 36 aligns with and engages the domelike recess 89 in the valve disc. This action maintains the rod 36 and the disc 81 centered in the barrel 11 and adds to the durability and life of the gun.

One of the important features of this invention, and one which constitutes an improvement over previous constructions, is the controlled and highly accurate impact on a target or other object made possible by the illustrated barrel and valve arrangement. In previous constructions, the valve assembly 71 was located at or near the muzzle end illustrated at 101 and primarily served to produce the noise or bang normally associated with this type of gun. Although compressed air was ejected out of the muzzle end 101 of these guns when fired, it tended to be dispersed relatively rapidly into the surrounding air. Also, any substantial cross-ventilation tended to result in lost control of the directional travel of the effect of this compressed air all of which resulted in reduced effectiveness in registering an impact on the target.

It has been discovered, however, that by moving the valve assembly 71 down the barrel 11 away from the muzzle end 101, the blast of air ejected from the barrel muzzle end when fired takes on a definite character, is accurately controlled and causes a correspondingly accurate and controlled impact on a target. Specifically, the valve assembly 71 of the present invention is positioned so that the forward face of the end wall 75 is spaced from the muzzle end 101 a distance equal to several times the diameter of the barrel '11. With the parts so positioned, the blast of air which travels out around the disc 81 and the spring 83- and out the muzzle end 101 the barrel 11 has an apparent tight ringlike or donut shaped configuration and causes an accurate and visible effect on targets through distances of up to 15 feet from the gun. Experiments have shown that these ring-like or donut blasts of air register their effect through cross winds created by a fan without being deflected to any great extent and consistently cause a visible impact on a paper or cloth target. In one commercial embodiment, very successful results have been attained where the forward face of the end wall 75 is spaced from the muzzle end 101 a distance slightly less than 6 inches, or about 5 inches and the barrel 11 has an inner diameter of about /4 inch. In this embodiment, the forward face of the end wall 75 is spaced from the muzzle end a distance equal to about seven times the barrel diameter. If the valve assembly 71 is moved closer to or further from the muzzle end 101, the consistent result achieved by the particular positioning described above is lost.

The effect of the above-described targetability in a popgun of this type is to greatly enhance the interested in and therefore the saleability of the gun; and it is important to note that this is achieved without any danger of injury to the user or to anyone nearby. This is so since the blast of ejected air has no capacity to fire a projectile from the gun barrel because of its ringlike configuration and nature and is totally incapable of inflicting any harm.

By the present invention, there is provided an improved popgun constructed to fulfill the aforementioned objects and while a preferred embodiment has been illustrated and described in detail, various additions, substitutions, modifications and omissions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention as encompassed by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A popgun comprising a barrel having a muzzle end, a chamber in said barrel, a valve assembly at one end of said chamber nearest said muzzle end, a central opening in said valve assembly, a valve member having a lateral dimension smaller than said barrel overlying said opening, spring means normally biasing said valve member toward said opening, a plunger in said chamber, means propelling said plunger toward said one end thereby compressing air within said chamber and moving said barrel being substantially non-perforate between said muzzle end and said valve assembly, said valve member away from said opening, said valve assembly being spaced from the muzzle end a distance equal to several times the barrel diameter to that upon releasing said valve assembly, a ring of air is propelled out said muzzle end, and causes an impact to be registered on a target spaced therefrom.

2. A popgun comprising a barrel having a muzzle end, a chamber in said barrel, a valve assembly at one end of said chamber nearest said muzzle end, a central opening in said valve assembly, a valve member having a lateral dimension smaller than said barrel overlying said opening, a plunger in said chamber, means propelling said plunger toward said one end thereby compressing air within said chamber and moving said valve member away from said opening said valve assembly being spaced from the muzzle end a distance equal to approximately eight times the barrel diameter so that upon moving said valve member, a ring of air is propelled out said muzzle end and causes an impact to be registered on a target spaced therefrom.

3. A popgun comprising a barrel having a muzzle end, a chamber in said barrel, a releasable valve assembly at one end of said chamber nearest said muzzle end, a plunger in said chamber, means propelling said plunger toward said one end thereby compressing air within said chamber and releasing said valve assembly, said barrel having a diameter of about inch, said barrel being substantially non-perforate between said muzzle end and said valve assembly, and said valve assembly being spaced from the muzzle end a distance of about six inches so that upon releasing said valve assembly, a ring of air is propelled out said muzzle and causes an impact to be registered on a target spaced therefrom.

4. A popgun comprising a barrel having a muzzle end, a chamber in said barrel, a valve assembly at one end of said chamber nearest said muzzle end, a central opening in said valve assembly, a disc having a lateral dimension smaller than said barrel overlying said opening, a plunger in said chamber, means propelling said plunger toward said one end thereby compressing air within said chamber and moving said disc away from said opening, said barrel having a diameter of about /1 inch, said barrel being substantially non-perforate between said muzzle end and said valve assembly, and said valve assembly being spaced from the muzzle end a distance of about 6 inches so that upon releasing said valve assembly, a ring of air is propefled out said muzzle end and registers an impact on a target spaced therefrom.

,5. A popgun comprisinga barrel having a muzzle end, a chamber in said barrel, a valve assembly at one end of said chamber nearest said muzzle end, a central opening in said valve assembly, a disc having a lateral dimension smaller than said barrel overlying said opening, a compression spring within said barrel between said valve assembly and muzzle end normally biasing said disc toward said opening, a plunger in said chamber, means propelling said plunger toward said one end thereby compressing air within said chamber and moving said disc away from said opening, said barrel having a diameter of about inch, said barrel being substantially non-perforate between said muzzle end and said valve assembly, and said valve assembly being spaced from the muzzle end a distance of about 6 inches so that upon releasing said valve assembly, a ring of air is propelled out said muzzle end and registers an impact on a target spaced therefrom.

6. A popgun comprising a barrel having a muzzle end, a chamber in said barrel, a valve assembly at one end of said chamber nearest said muzzle end, a central opening in said valve assembly, a disc having a lateral dimension smaller than said barrel overlying said opening, a compression spring within said barrel between said valve assembly and muzzle end normally biasing said disc toward said opening, a plunger in said chamber, means propelling said plunger toward said one end thereby compressing air within said chamber and moving said disc away from said opening and compressing said spring, said barrel having a diameter of about inch, said barrel being substantially non-perforate between said muzzle end and said valve assembly, and said valve assembly being spaced from the muzzle end a distance of about 5 inches so that upon releasing said valve assembly, a ring of air is propelled out said muzzle end and causes an impact to be registered on a target spaced therefrom.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,779,892 10/1930 Roe 124--l4 2,729,208 1/1956 Gaeke 12414 2,856,912 10/ 1958 Erickson 12437 X 1,473,178 11/1923 Dray 124-1 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner WILLIAM R. BROWNE, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 124l5, 37

UNITIKID S'IAJES IAJEN'I OFFICE r1 "1 F1 CERTIFICAI E 01* CORHLCHON Patent No. 3 4,65 741 Lj nt. fiscjfihqcwcccw lnvcnLul s) itlchslu 1.. .bsllzf ci one houert U. Wesley H w I t is certified that error appears :in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, lines 5 and 6, "assignors to Daisy Manufacturing Company, Rogers, Ark. a corporation of Nevada" should read --assignors, by mesne assignments, to Victor Comptometer Corporation, Chicago, Ill. a corporation of Illinois--. (The assignment from Daisy Manufacturing Company to Victor Comptometer Corporation was recorded in the United States Patent Office October 20, 1967, on Reel 1994, Frames 148-153.)

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1. A POPGUN COMPRISING A BARREL HAVING A MUZZLE END, A CHAMBER IN SAID BARREL, A VALVE ASSEMBLY AT ONE END OF SAID CHAMBER NEAREST SAID MUZZLE END, A CENTRAL OPENING IN SAID VALVE ASSEMBLY, A VALVE MEMBER HAVING A LATERAL DIMENSION SMALLER THAN SAID BARREL OVERLYING SAID OPENING, SPRING MEANS NORMALLY BIASING SAID VALVE MEMBER TOWARD SAID OPENING, A PLUNGER IN SAID CHAMBER, MEANS PROPELLING SAID PLUNGER TOWARD SAID ONE END THEREBY COMPRESSING AIR WITHIN SAID CHAMBER AND MOVING SAID BARREL BEING SUBSTANTIALLY NON-PERFORATE BETWEEN SAID MUZZLE END AND SAID VALVE ASSEMBLY, SAID VALVE MEMBER AWAY FROM SAID OPEN- 